Button on Monaco pole as Hamilton crashes

A dramatic last-minute lap of 1min 14.902 sec in Saturday's final qualifier gave Britain's Jensen Button his fourth pole of the season – and put him in the perfect position to win this afternoon's Monaco grand prix. Of the 55 races since WWII, 22 have been won by the driver in pole position.

Starting alongside Button in the front row will be Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, with Button's Brawn-Mercedes teammate Rubens Barrichello and Red Bull-Renault's Sebastian Vettel behind them.

Somewhat further behind will be Lewis Hamilton, starting in the eighth row of the grid after hitting the barriers yesterday. Hamilton, who last year won his first Monaco GP with a brilliant display, crashed out after he lost control at the sharp right-hand bend at Mirabeau.

A win for Button on the notoriously tough course would see the British driver reap success in the Principality where he has lived - and toiled - for the past eight years. "It's not going to be easy," Button said after yesterday’s qualifier. "But it's a great feeling to be on pole here."

"It means a lot," he added. "It's a fantastic feeling; such a buzz, such an adrenalin rush to get a lap out of here… I got everything out of the car. It was my best lap of the weekend and definitely one of the best laps I've ever done." ·